Look I didn't want to be a half-blood.
Honestly having a godly parent kind of sucks. Monsters, painful death, not to mention no phones allowed. Overall, not great.
So, if you suspect even slightly that you don't know the full scope of your lineage. And if there's even the tiniest bit of you that thinks you might be one of us. Then stop and put down this book, turn off your reading tablet, close your computer, or delete whatever tab you have this on. Because once you start there's no going back.
The instant you begin to question who you are they will come after you. Trust me. I for one should know a thing or two about this. But if you're reading this and you're determined to go on and hear my story. Well then be my guest. Hopefully one of you can learn something from all of this but who knows.
My name is Y/n L/n. I'm 12 years old and for the past few months I've been traveling across the country fighting monsters and dodging traps at every turn. You know overall a pretty bad road trip.
But after weeks of journeying, I was finally coming to my destination. I ran through the streets of Long Island peering down alleys and street corners expecting some sort of monster to jump out at me moments before I made it to safety.
I wore a light gray unzipped hoodie that blew behind me as I ran. Beneath that I was wearing a black Star Wars t-shirt and some plain dark blue jeans. I had already discarded and scavenged for so many pairs of clothes that I had lost count. None of them lasted that long you know with the constant monster attacks. Even now these ones were covered in dirt, rips, and cuts. But they would have to do for now.
I made sure my dirk was still secured in its sheath. And I continued running along the street peering anxiously over the darkened area that surrounded me. The sun had already set and a storm had settled into the night. Wind and rain pelting me as I tried to ignore the storm. I had considered resting until morning came but I found that my body simply would not allow me to. Not while I was so close.
So there I was running down the street with rags for clothes, drenched in rain, and out of my mind exhausted. But still I urged myself forwards, the buildings slowly disappearing behind me as I followed the road. I looked up ahead as a flash of lightning illuminated the area around me. And in the distance on the edge of my vision I could see the silhouette of a giant pine tree atop the nearest hill. And my heart leapt with hope and relief.
She had told me to look for it. Told me that once I had crossed it I would be safe. All I had to do was make it to the crest of the hill and cross the threshold. I focused all my strength on running forward. Urging myself on. But as I continued, and I came closer up ahead of me I saw a terrifying sight.
A giant burly monster the size of a car standing in the center of the road. Back turned to me as it threw aside the scrapped remains of a wrecked car. The silhouette was intimidating enough but as a flash of lightning illuminated the beast a shiver ran up my spine. I was looking at the Minotaur. I remembered it from one of the books my dad had forced me to read. And my god the descriptions of it did not do it any justice. And I had fought quite a number of monsters for only being twelve, but this thing was pretty intimidating.
Quickly I ripped my eyes away from it as I looked past him. My eyes widening again as I saw three figures retreating from the monster. One seemed to be wounded as they were leaning on the other two for support. Suddenly I saw the bull crouch down slowly leveling its horns as it prepared to charge. And without thinking I pulled my dirk from its sheath and found myself running down the road. Fully prepared to fight a giant bull the size of a car with a weapon that was essentially a glorified knife.
"This is stupid. This is stupid. This is stupid. This so stupid." I mumbled under my breath as I ran down the street.
Trying to close the distance before the thing charged. But I was tired, exhausted, and pretty hurt. Still, I urged my legs to keep running. Suddenly there was another flash of lightning and I looked up trying to see what was happening. And then felt my heart drop as the bull charged forward. I looked past it at the three figures ahead.
They had just made it to the bottom of the hill when one of them pushed the other two to the side. Moving into the center of the street as the bull charged at him. I felt my throat constrict as they managed to jump out of the way right before the monster's horns would have impaled him. Letting out a deep sigh of relief as I kept running ahead.
She had always told me that self-preservation was key. Don't put yourself at risk just because others might be themselves. Save yourself when the boat starts to sink. Be the first to jump over the railing or go down with the ship trying to save the crew on it. And what I was about to do essentially went against everything she had taught me. But I was always terrible at listening to her anyways.
I took another quick glance up as I approached all of them still several yards in front of me. And as another flash of lightning illuminated the scene in front of me fear settled into my heart as I saw the beast charge the woman in front of me. And I knew that quite a few things were about to go horribly wrong.
Percy's POV
"Run, Percy!" she told me. "I can't go any farther. Run!"
But I just stood there, frozen in fear, as the monster charged her. She tried to sidestep, as she'd told me to do, but the monster had learned his lesson. His hand shot out and grabbed her by the neck as she tried to get away. He lifted her as she struggled, kicking and pummeling the air.
"Mom!"
She caught my eyes and managed to choke out one last word: "Go!"
Then, with an angry roar, the monster closed his fists around my mother's neck, and she dissolved before my eyes, melting into light, a shimmering golden form, as if she were a holographic projection. A blinding flash, and she was simply gone . . . gone.
"No!"
Anger replaced my fear. New found strength burned in my limbs the same rush of energy I'd gotten when Mrs. Dodds grew talons.
The bull-man bore down on Grover, who lay helpless in the grass. The monster hunched over, snuffling my best friend, as if he were about to lift Grover up and make him dissolve too.
I couldn't allow that.
I stripped off my red rain jacket.
"Hey!" I screamed, waving the jacket, running to one side of the monster. "Hey stupid! Ground beef!" Jeez I needed to work on my one liners. Regardless it seemed to get his attention.
"Raaarrr!" The monster turned toward me, shaking his meaty fists.
I had an idea–a stupid idea, but better than no idea at all. I put my back to the big pine tree and waved my red jacket in front of the bull-man, thinking I'd jump out of the way at the last moment.
But it didn't happen like that. The bull-man charged too fast, his arms out to grab me whichever way I tried to dodge.
Time slowed down.
My legs tensed. I couldn't jump sideways, so I leaped straight up, kicking off from the creature's head, using it as a springboard, turning in midair, and landing on his neck in a millisecond, the monster's head slammed into the tree and the impact nearly knocked my teeth out.
The bull-man staggered around, trying to shake me. I locked my arms around his horns to keep from being thrown. Thunder and lightning were still going strong. The rain was in my eyes. The smell of rotten meat burned my nostrils.
The monster shook himself around and bucked like a rodeo bull. He should have just backed up into the tree and smashed me flat, but I was starting to realize that this thing had only one gear: forward.
Meanwhile, Grover started groaning in the grass. I wanted to yell at him to shut up, but the way I was getting tossed around and if I opened my mouth I'd bite my own tongue off.
"Food!" Grover moaned.
The bull-man wheeled toward him, pawed the ground again, and got ready to charge. And I was left trying futilely to come up with a plan to get it away from Grover. When abruptly I heard someone yell.
"Hey! Beef for brains!"
And I turned to see another boy running down the road. Knife in hand as he charged the bull. I squinted my eyes at him in confusion. At a loss for words as he leapt through the air. Dirk shining in the moonlight. And I was left thinking that "beef for brains" is a way better one liner than "stupid ground beef".
Y/n's Pov
This was idiotic completely and enfathomobaly stupid. Yet here I was charging a 700 pound bull-man with nothing but a glorified knife. Sometimes I really question how I get into these situations.
I looked up again as I approached the bull. The boy from before now riding atop it like one of those bull rodeo machines you saw at southern tourist traps. And surprisingly he was holding his own. But the bull quickly turned his attention from him and towards the other unconscious kid on the ground. And sadly there was no sign of the woman that I had seen just moments prior. I couldn't help her but maybe I could still help them.
But first I had to get its attention. I thought about just yelling at him but that didn't seem to have my desired effect. I tried to come up with a clever one liner like in an action film or a marvel movie and in the spur of the moment my brain spat out: "Hey! Beef for brains!" And I could only feel myself cringe internally as those words left my mouth. I definitely needed to workshop my one liners. Have like a list on me or something.
I pushed the thought aside quickly as I approached and without much thought I ran up as close as I dared to the minotaur. Stopping in front of it as I pushed myself off the ground. Raising my dirk up as I gripped it with both of my hands. And as I leapt through the air the bull had no time to turn and block me. My weapon came down hard on his upper arm. The stygian iron blade sinking deep into the monster's leathery skin. I must say I felt quite proud of myself at that point. Up until I realized that I was now stuck dangling from said monster's arm. With no further ideas on what to do from here. The other guy on top of the bull looked down at me with questioning and concerned eyes. Like he was waiting for the next part of a plan that I had not thought out.
"Any chance we can call a truce?" I asked the Minotaur.
The bull-man roared out in anger again as I spoke. And I was inclined to take that as an assured no. Quickly the bull brought up his other arm swinging it down on the arm that I was currently hanging from.
"Oh, frick."
Quickly I ripped the knife out and leapt off of him. His other hand grazing my hair as it barely missed me. Myself then coming down hard on the pavement falling awkwardly trying to position myself so I'd at least land on my feet. And I did manage to get my legs under me but as I landed on the road one foot landed flat and the other fell on its side. Rolling my foot as I assuredly sprained my ankle quickly finding myself on the ground in pain as I writhed on the street. My foot felt like it had just been stabbed by a thousand tiny needles. I tried to crawl and move to safety but there was no time. And then I heard the loud shuffling of the monster standing over me.
"Look out!" The bull rider yelled.
And I had enough time to look up as I saw a giant hand come swinging at me knocking the air out of my chest. Sending me skidding across the street like a ragdoll across pavement. And I could hardly move or breathe as I lay on the ground. Trembling in pain as I felt darkness begin to close in on me. Unsurprisingly it had been a stupid idea. But I had known that going in. I had only hoped that my luck would last a little longer. I could only sigh inside my mind as I lay on the pavement. She would be so disappointed if she saw me right now. Dying right before making it to safety. A waste of a demigod she might say. And slowly I closed my eyes waiting for the minotaur to end me. But as the darkness closed in and I slipped into unconsciousness the last sound I heard was the loud snap of what sounded like the breaking of a bull's horn.
Percy's POV
I felt my heart stop as I watched him skid across the street. Wincing as small streaks of blood were left in his wake. He had tried to help and even managed to buy me some time but if I didn't do something now. His efforts, my mom's sacrifice, it would all be for nothing. The bull-man wheeled toward Grover. Having already discarded his prior opponent who now lied in a heap on the pavement. Getting ready to charge at my friend who sat unprotected on the grass. I thought about how he had squeezed the life out of my mother, made her disappear in a flash of light, and rage filled me like high-octane fuel. I got both hands around one horn and I pulled backward with all my might. The monster tensed, gave a surprised grunt, then—snap!
The bull-man screamed and flung me through the air. I landed flat on my back in the grass. My head smashed against a rock. When I sat up, my vision was blurry, but I had a horn in my hands, a ragged bone weapon the size of a knife.
The monster charged.
Without thinking, I rolled to one side and came up kneeling. As the monster barreled past, I drove the broken horn straight into his side, horn straight into his side, right into his furry rib cage.
The bull-man roared in agony. He flailed, clawing at his chest, then began to disintegrate—not like my mother, in a flash of golden light, but like crumbling sand, blown away in chunks by the wind, the same way Mrs. Dodds had burst apart.
The monster was gone.
The rain had stopped. The storm still rumbled, but only in the distance. I smelled like livestock and my knees were shaking. My head felt like it was splitting open. I was weak and scared and trembling with grief. I'd just seen my mother vanish. I wanted to lie down and cry, but there was Grover, needing my help. Not to mention the other boy who lied half dead in the street. So, painfully I managed to haul the goat boy up and stagger over to the boy a few feet away from me. And awkwardly carry the both of them as I moved us down the valley. Toward the lights of the farm house, I was crying, calling for my mother, but I held on to Grover and the nameless boy. I wasn't letting them go.
The last thing I remember is collapsing on a wooden porch, looking up at a ceiling fan circling above me, moths flying around a yellow light, and the stern faces of a familiar-looking bearded man and a pretty girl, her blond hair curled like a princess's. They both looked down at me and the girl said, "He's the one. He must be."
"Silence, Annabeth," the man said. "He's still conscious. Bring him inside."